Raiders-Chiefs fantasy football: Is Josh Jacobs’ breakout real?
Those who trusted talent over situation and drafted Raiders running back Josh Jacobs in the fourth or fifth round of their fantasy drafts finally saw their pick pay dividends last week.
After averaging 64 yards on the ground with no touchdowns in the first three games, Jacobs erupted for 144 yards and two scores in a win over the Broncos on Sunday.
He also caught five passes for 31 yards and has 10 catches in his past two games after getting one in each of the first two games.
So Jacobs is finally making contributions in the fantasy world, but it wasn’t necessarily his fault when he wasn’t.
Opportunity is vital, and Jacobs didn’t so much start playing better as he did just simply get the ball more.
He came into Sunday’s game averaging almost 4 yards per carry after first contact and finished at 4.14.
His success was more a case of finally having a positive game script in which the Raiders played with a lead and moved the chains with the run game, allowing Jacobs and the offensive line to get into a rhythm for the first time this season.
Jacobs also has eased any concerns about being part of a committee. It has been the way of coach Josh McDaniels as an offensive coordinator in New England to spread the ball around to several backs. There was concern of a similar situation with the Raiders depreciating Jacobs’ value.
Those concerns appear unfounded. Jacobs has 70 carries this season, and the rest of the running backs have a total of nine.
All of that would seem to suggest a great deal of optimism about Jacobs for the rest of the season. But maybe not.
That problem with negative game scripts could return, as the Raiders play on “Monday Night Football” at the high-powered Kansas City Chiefs, who could get an early lead and take the running game away.
There remains little doubt about Jacobs’ ability. His fantasy value, however, could prove inconsistent, so listen to trade offers.
Here are the rest of the buy and sell recommendations:
Buy
Travis Kelce, TE, Chiefs: No brainer. He’s been the best and most consistent tight end in the NFL for years. At a position starving for consistent production, he is as reliable as it gets.
Hunter Renfrow, WR, Raiders: He’s back after a two-week absence and was dropped in many leagues. He’s on less than 75 percent of rosters in Yahoo and CBS leagues, and while he’s not likely to put up another 100-catch season, he provides a solid floor in PPR leagues.
Sell
Chiefs receivers: Each week, one or two of these guys will have a big game. The next week, it will be someone else. Individually, it’s tempting to have guys such as Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Mecole Hardman, Skyy Moore and JuJu Smith-Schuster on your roster. But it’s too difficult to predict who will be featured each week to be worth the aggravation. Take Smith-Schuster, for example. His yardage totals have been 79, 10, 89, 46.
Jerrick McKinnon, RB, Chiefs: The emergence of Isiah Pacheco last week against the Buccaneers was great news for those who invested in the rookie before the season and kept him. McKinnon managers weren’t as excited.
Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on Twitter.